9.14.2008

weather or not

Everyone okay?

For some reason I have a pretty strong Texas following, unless it is just the same three of you checking in seven times a day to see if I've put up anything new. To that I say "Google Reader" or sign up to be a follower in that little feature on the sidebar. Self-preservation and pride do not allow me to check the IPs on all those Tay-haas hits to see exactly how many of you there are, but I've been thinkin'-a y'all.

We are practically swimming here, but we haven't had any rain today. The humidity is well over 600% and I don't think it is supposed to dip below 85 until Monday night. I am so more than ready for this summer to be over. It's been gross and I've had to come up with multiple indoor activities because the boy will surely double over in a heat stroke if I take him to the park because he can't stop himself from going amok to the extreme.

I ran him around ragged yesterday on a Busriding and Rainwalking Umbrella Adventure instead of coming straight home from daycare. We both needed it, me because I was a crybaby mess and Jake because he is going through one of those hunger-strike rapid physical and mental and lingual development weeks and if we came back to the house there might have been a little bit of strife. When we got home we had a nice steaming bowl of Not Dogs and Beans and shared an apple and played a little bit of Diego Meets McQueen & Fights Fires and when it was time for bed Jake asked if he could sleep in my room. Back in the olden days I would let him sleep over on Friday nights but then he started sleeping like a maniac and that stopped as soon as it started. I figured I'd give it a try so I turned on the TV to see if there was any suitable programming (I don't have cable upstairs) and found a cartoon on Public Access.

Yeah, it was Animal Farm. So what. Jake had fun naming all the animals and telling me that they were learning their letters at school and (here's the kicker) how they were all being good and working together to get the job done and they were happy! Happy to be working and cleaning up the farm!

In the same vein, one of his favorite books right now is Tootle. I picked it up because I remember having it when I was little and I like Jake to have things that I had. Have you read this? I don't like it. It is about a train who loves to jump the track and play in the meadow and have a jolly time but that is not the right thing to do. The right thing to do is conform, conform, conform, and stay on the track and work hard and stop when someone tells you to stop and go where and when someone tells you to go and the only way you will ever amount to anything is if you do exactly what you are told. Tootle just wants to be different and do his own thing and the townspeople find it so horridly despicable that they band together and force him to stop prancing around in the flowers and dancing with the butterflies and racing the horses and wearing rings of daisies around his neck and stop being true to himself and get back on the straight and narrow path that society has carved out for him ("Staying on the Rails No Matter What"). I guess it is a good message when you want your kid to eat his vegetables, but it's not really the way I like to get things done. I let him look at the pictures but I don't read the words. We usually just tell stories about how nice it is to get a break from staying on the rails from time to time. I encourage singing and dancing and frolicking in my house. It all kind of makes sense when you consider the book was written in 1946, and I especially love that there is liberal use of the words "gay" and "queer". I am immediately attracted to all things gay and queer, including Tootle, and 1946 in particular. The whole thing makes me want to buy you an ascot and a martini shaker and meet you on a diner car so I can give it to you properly.

It's fun to find a balance between being too much of a stickler for the rules and being one of those annoying parents who let their child "express itself".Oh don't mind Johnny, he isn't breaking your things, he is creating something new out of them. Johnny is an artist.Mary isn't screaming, she is getting in touch with her frustrations. Mary, dear, please use your inside voice.Timmy feels that it is his turn to play with the blocks so he is throwing them at Joey so Joey develops a healthy fear and respect for things that are seemingly harmless. It is very primal and healthy.

God I hate other moms. Except you. You I like because you hate other moms too.

Back to the story (as if there is ever such a thing here) Jake was an absolute joy last night and he curled right up to me to try to find that spot he used to sleep in when he was first born but he couldn't quite get in there because he is almost four times as long as he was back then. He wrapped his arms around my neck and touched my face over and over and told me he loved me any time one of us moved even if he was sleeping and any time I opened my eyes he was either smiling in his sleep or he opened up his eyes too like he knew I was looking at him and he told me he was so happy to be next to me. He told me I look pretty with my eyes closed (I don't) and that he likes to hear me breathing next to him. Does it get any better than that? When he was a newborn and sleeping in my room he was always opening his eyes at the same time I opened mine and I don't have the words to explain how it feels that he still does that.

I could go on and on but I don't want to creep you out. Because if you had typed this I would be a little creeped out by now.

Isn't that sweet! I tried to let the girls sleep in our bed a few months ago and it was a friggin nightmare (for me, not for Bobby because men can sleep through ANYTHING) they kicked me and stuck fingers in my nose at 3:00 am. It was horrible